Minardi Racing F1 pf

Minardi
Full name	Minardi F1 Team
Base	Faenza,  Italy
Founder/s	Giancarlo Minardi
Noted staff	Aldo Costa Gabriele Rumi Paul Stoddart
Noted drivers	Pierluigi Martini Fernando Alonso Mark Webber Giancarlo Fisichella Jarno Trulli Justin Wilson
Formula One World Championship career
Engines	Motori Moderni, Ford, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Hart, Fondmetal, European, Asiatech, Cosworth
Debut	1985 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races competed	345
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	0
Points	38
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
Final race	2005 Chinese Grand Prix

Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans. In 2001, to save the team from folding, Minardi sold it to Australian businessman Paul Stoddart, who ran the team for five years before selling it on to Red Bull in 2005 who renamed it Scuderia Toro Rosso.

During its time in F1, the team scored a total of 38 championship points (under the modern points system this number would be 126 points). 16 of these (32 under the present system) were earned by the team's first driver, Pierluigi Martini. Martini also recorded the team's only front row start: 2nd at the 1990 United States Grand Prix and actually led a lap during a heroic performance in the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix. In spite of this, the team never achieved a podium finish in its history, only managing a best place of 4th three times: Martini twice in 1991 and Christian Fittipaldi in 1993.

Before Minardi's demise, it was a particularly well-liked team within Formula One circles for many reasons. In the paddock, the team was noted for friendliness, accessibility, and lack of corporate culture (universally regarded as having the best espresso in F1). On the track, their cars were regarded by many as well-designed for their tiny budget (in comparison to front-runners such as Ferrari and McLaren), their lowly position recognised as more of a lack of funds (and engine power) rather than a necessarily poor car.^{[citation needed]} They also resisted employing pay-drivers more so than most other financially strapped teams, producing an impressive alumni including Grand Prix winners Alessandro Nannini, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, twice World Champion Fernando Alonso and Champ Car winners Christian Fittipaldi and Alex Zanardi. Champ Car and IRL race winner Justin Wilson also raced for them.